vi_diff.txt For Vim version 9.1. Last change: 2024 Nov 10 VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by Bram Moolenaar Differences between Vim and Vi vi-differences This file lists the differences between Vim and Vi/Ex and gives an overview of what is in Vim that is not in Vi. Vim is mostly POSIX 1003.2-1 compliant. The only command known to be missing is ":open". There are probably a lot of small differences (either because Vim is missing something or because Posix is beside the mark). 1. Simulated command simulated-command 2. Missing options missing-options 3. Limits limits 4. The most interesting additions vim-additions 5. Other vim features other-features 6. Supported Vi features vi-features 7. Command-line arguments cmdline-arguments 8. POSIX compliance posix-compliance 9. Supported Operating Systems os-support ============================================================================== 1. Simulated command simulated-command This command is in Vi, but Vim only simulates it: :o :op :open :[range]o[pen] Works like :visual: end Ex mode. {Vi: start editing in open mode} :[range]o[pen] /pattern/ As above, additionally move the cursor to the column where "pattern" matches in the cursor line. Vim does not support open mode, since it's not really useful. For those situations where ":open" would start open mode Vim will leave Ex mode, which allows executing the same commands, but updates the whole screen instead of only one line. ============================================================================== 2. Missing options missing-options These options are in the Unix Vi, but not in Vim. If you try to set one of them you won't get an error message, but the value is not used and cannot be printed. autoprint (ap) boolean (default on) 'autoprint' 'ap' beautify (bf) boolean (default off) 'beautify' 'bf' flash (fl) boolean (default on) 'flash' 'fl' graphic (gr) boolean (default off) 'graphic' 'gr' hardtabs (ht) number (default 8) 'hardtabs' 'ht' number of spaces that a <Tab> moves on the display mesg boolean (default on) 'mesg' novice boolean (default off) 'novice' open boolean (default on) 'open' optimize (op) boolean (default off) 'optimize' 'op' redraw boolean (default off) 'redraw' slowopen (slow) boolean (default off) 'slowopen' 'slow' sourceany boolean (default off) 'sourceany' w300 number (default 23) 'w300' w1200 number (default 23) 'w1200' w9600 number (default 23) 'w9600' Vi did not allow for changing the termcap entries, you would have to exit Vi, edit the termcap entry and try again. Vim has the terminal-options. ============================================================================== 3. Limits limits Vim has only a few limits for the files that can be edited {Vi: can not handle <Nul> characters and characters above 128, has limited line length, many other limits}. Maximum line length 2147483647 characters. Longer lines are split. Maximum number of lines 2147483647 lines. Maximum file size 2147483647 bytes (2 Gbyte) when a long integer is 32 bits. Much more for 64 bit longs. Also limited by available disk space for the swap-file. E75 Length of a file path Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256 characters (or as much as the system supports). Length of an expanded string option Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 256 characters Maximum display width Unix and Win32: 1024 characters, otherwise 255 characters Maximum lhs of a mapping 50 characters. Number of different highlighting types: over 30000 Range of a Number variable: -2147483648 to 2147483647 (might be more on 64 bit systems) Maximum length of a line in a tags file: 512 bytes. Information for undo and text in registers is kept in memory, thus when making (big) changes the amount of (virtual) memory available limits the number of undo levels and the text that can be kept in registers. Other things are also kept in memory: Command-line history, error messages for Quickfix mode, etc. Memory usage limits ------------------- The option 'maxmem' ('mm') is used to set the maximum memory used for one buffer (in kilobytes). 'maxmemtot' is used to set the maximum memory used for all buffers (in kilobytes). The defaults depend on the system used. For the Amiga, 'maxmemtot' is set depending on the amount of memory available. These are not hard limits, but tell Vim when to move text into a swap file. If you don't like Vim to swap to a file, set 'maxmem' and 'maxmemtot' to a very large value. The swap file will then only be used for recovery. If you don't want a swap file at all, set 'updatecount' to 0, or use the "-n" argument when starting Vim. ============================================================================== 4. The most interesting additions vim-additions Vi compatibility. 'compatible' Although Vim is 99% Vi compatible, some things in Vi can be considered to be a bug, or at least need improvement. But still, Vim starts in a mode which behaves like the "real" Vi as much as possible. To make Vim behave a little bit better, try resetting the 'compatible' option: :set nocompatible Or start Vim with the "-N" argument: vim -N Vim starts with 'nocompatible' automatically if you have a .vimrc file. See startup. The 'cpoptions' option can be used to set Vi compatibility on/off for a number of specific items. Support for different systems. Vim can be used on: - All Unix systems (it works on all systems it was tested on, although the GUI and Perl interface may not work everywhere). - Amiga (500, 1000, 1200, 2000, 3000, 4000, ...). - MS-Windows - VMS - Macintosh - IBM OS/390 Note that on some systems features need to be disabled to reduce resource usage. For some outdated systems you need to use an older Vim version. Multi level persistent undo. undo 'u' goes backward in time, 'CTRL-R' goes forward again. Set option 'undolevels' to the number of changes to be remembered (default 1000). Set 'undolevels' to 0 for a Vi-compatible one level undo. Set it to -1 for no undo at all. When all changes in a buffer have been undone, the buffer is not considered changed anymore. You can exit it with :q, without <!>. When undoing a few changes and then making a new change Vim will create a branch in the undo tree. This means you can go back to any state of the text, there is no risk of a change causing text to be lost forever. undo-tree The undo information is stored in a file when the 'undofile' option is set. This means you can exit Vim, start Vim on a previously edited file and undo changes that were made before exiting Vim. Graphical User Interface (GUI). gui Included support for GUI: menu's, mouse, scrollbars, etc. You can define your own menus. Better support for CTRL/SHIFT/ALT keys in combination with special keys and mouse. Supported for various platforms, such as X11 with Motif, GTK, Win32 (Windows XP and later), Amiga and Macintosh. Multiple windows and buffers. windows.txt Vim can split the screen into several windows, each editing a different buffer or the same buffer at a different location. Buffers can still be loaded (and changed) but not displayed in a window. This is called a hidden buffer. Many commands and options have been added for this facility. Vim can also use multiple tab pages, each with one or more windows. A line with tab labels can be used to quickly switch between these pages. tab-page Terminal window. :terminal Vim can create a window in which a terminal emulator runs. This can be used to execute an arbitrary command, a shell or a debugger. Syntax highlighting. :syntax Vim can highlight keywords, patterns and other things. This is defined by a number of :syntax commands, and can be made to highlight most languages and file types. A number of files are included for highlighting the most common languages, like C, C++, Java, Pascal, Makefiles, shell scripts, etc. The colors used for highlighting can be defined for ordinary terminals, color terminals and the GUI with the :highlight command. A convenient way to do this is using a :colorscheme command. The highlighted text can be exported as HTML. convert-to-HTML Other items that can be highlighted are matches with the search string 'hlsearch', matching parens matchparen and the cursor line and column 'cursorline' 'cursorcolumn'. Text properties textprop.txt Vim supports highlighting text by a plugin. Property types can be specified with prop_type_add() and properties can be placed with prop_add(). Spell checking. spell When the 'spell' option is set Vim will highlight spelling mistakes. About 50 languages are currently supported, selected with the 'spelllang' option. In source code only comments and strings are checked for spelling. Folding. folding A range of lines can be shown as one "folded" line. This allows overviewing a file and moving blocks of text around quickly. Folds can be created manually, from the syntax of the file, by indent, etc. Diff mode. diff Vim can show two versions of a file with the differences highlighted. Parts of the text that are equal are folded away. Commands can be used to move text from one version to the other. Plugins. add-plugin The functionality can be extended by dropping a plugin file in the right directory. That's an easy way to start using Vim scripts written by others. Plugins can be for all kind of files, or specifically for a filetype. Packages make this even easier. packages Asynchronous communication and timers. channel job timer Vim can exchange messages with other processes in the background. This makes it possible to have servers do work and send back the results to Vim. channel Vim can start a job, communicate with it and stop it. job Timers can fire once or repeatedly and invoke a function to do any work. timer Repeat a series of commands. q "q{c}" starts recording typed characters into named register {c}. A subsequent "q" stops recording. The register can then be executed with the "@{c}" command. This is very useful to repeat a complex action. Flexible insert mode. ins-special-special The arrow keys can be used in insert mode to move around in the file. This breaks the insert in two parts as far as undo and redo is concerned. CTRL-O can be used to execute a single Normal mode command. This is almost the same as hitting <Esc>, typing the command and doing a. Visual mode. Visual-mode Visual mode can be used to first highlight a piece of text and then give a command to do something with it. This is an (easy to use) alternative to first giving the operator and then moving to the end of the text to be operated upon. v and V are used to start Visual mode. v works on characters and V on lines. Move the cursor to extend the Visual area. It is shown highlighted on the screen. By typing "o" the other end of the Visual area can be moved. The Visual area can be affected by an operator: d delete c change y yank > or < insert or delete indent ! filter through external program = filter through indent : start : command for the Visual lines. gq format text to 'textwidth' columns J join lines ~ swap case u make lowercase U make uppercase {Vi has no Visual mode, the name "visual" is used for Normal mode, to distinguish it from Ex mode} Block operators. visual-block With Visual mode a rectangular block of text can be selected. Start Visual mode with CTRL-V. The block can be deleted ("d"), yanked ("y") or its case can be changed ("~", "u" and "U"). A deleted or yanked block can be put into the text with the "p" and "P" commands. Help system. :help Help is displayed in a window. The usual commands can be used to move around, search for a string, etc. Tags can be used to jump around in the help files, just like hypertext links. The :help command takes an argument to quickly jump to the info on a subject. <F1> is the quick access to the help system. The name of the help index file can be set with the 'helpfile' option. Command-line editing and history. cmdline-editing You can insert or delete at any place in the command-line using the cursor keys. The right/left cursor keys can be used to move forward/backward one character. The shifted right/left cursor keys can be used to move forward/backward one word. CTRL-B/CTRL-E can be used to go to the begin/end of the command-line. {Vi: can only alter the last character in the line} {Vi: when hitting <Esc> the command-line is executed. This is unexpected for most people; therefore it was changed in Vim. But when the <Esc> is part of a mapping, the command-line is executed. If you want the Vi behaviour also when typing <Esc>, use ":cmap ^V<Esc> ^V^M"} cmdline-history The command-lines are remembered. The up/down cursor keys can be used to recall previous command-lines. The 'history' option can be set to the number of lines that will be remembered. There is a separate history for commands and for search patterns. Command-line completion. cmdline-completion While entering a command-line (on the bottom line of the screen) <Tab> can be typed to complete what example - command :e<Tab> - tag :ta scr<Tab> - option :set sc<Tab> - option value :set hf=<Tab> - file name :e ve<Tab> - etc. If there are multiple matches, CTRL-N (next) and CTRL-P (previous) will walk through the matches. <Tab> works like CTRL-N, but wraps around to the first match. The 'wildchar' option can be set to the character for command-line completion, <Tab> is the default. CTRL-D can be typed after an (incomplete) wildcard; all matches will be listed. CTRL-A will insert all matches. CTRL-L will insert the longest common part of the matches. Insert-mode completion. ins-completion In Insert mode the CTRL-N and CTRL-P keys can be used to complete a word that appears elsewhere. i_CTRL-N With CTRL-X another mode is entered, through which completion can be done for: i_CTRL-X_CTRL-F file names i_CTRL-X_CTRL-K words from 'dictionary' files i_CTRL-X_CTRL-T words from 'thesaurus' files i_CTRL-X_CTRL-I words from included files i_CTRL-X_CTRL-L whole lines i_CTRL-X_CTRL-] words from the tags file i_CTRL-X_CTRL-D definitions or macros i_CTRL-X_CTRL-O Omni completion: clever completion specifically for a file type etc. Long line support. 'wrap' 'linebreak' If the 'wrap' option is off, long lines will not wrap and only part of them will be shown. When the cursor is moved to a part that is not shown, the screen will scroll horizontally. The minimum number of columns to scroll can be set with the 'sidescroll' option. The zh and zl commands can be used to scroll sideways. Alternatively, long lines are broken in between words when the 'linebreak' option is set. This allows editing a single-line paragraph conveniently (e.g. when the text is later read into a DTP program). Move the cursor up/down with the gk and gj commands. Text formatting. formatting The 'textwidth' option can be used to automatically limit the line length. This supplements the 'wrapmargin' option of Vi, which was not very useful. The gq operator can be used to format a piece of text (for example, gqap formats the current paragraph). Commands for text alignment: :center, :left and :right. Extended search patterns. pattern There are many extra items to match various text items. Examples: A "\n" can be used in a search pattern to match a line break. "x\{2,4}" matches "x" 2 to 4 times. "\s" matches a white space character. Directory, remote and archive browsing. netrw Vim can browse the file system. Simply edit a directory. Move around in the list with the usual commands and press <Enter> to go to the directory or file under the cursor. This also works for remote files over ftp, http, ssh, etc. Zip and tar archives can also be browsed. tar zip Edit-compile-edit speedup. quickfix The :make command can be used to run the compilation and jump to the first error. A file with compiler error messages is interpreted. Vim jumps to the first error. Each line in the error file is scanned for the name of a file, line number and error message. The 'errorformat' option can be set to a list of scanf-like strings to handle output from many compilers. The :cn command can be used to jump to the next error. :cl lists all the error messages. Other commands are available. The 'makeef' option has the name of the file with error messages. The 'makeprg' option contains the name of the program to be executed with the :make command. The 'shellpipe' option contains the string to be used to put the output of the compiler into the errorfile. Finding matches in files. :vimgrep Vim can search for a pattern in multiple files. This uses the advanced Vim regexp pattern, works on all systems and also works to search in compressed files. Improved indenting for programs. 'cindent' When the 'cindent' option is on the indent of each line is automatically adjusted. C syntax is mostly recognized. The indent for various styles can be set with 'cinoptions'. The keys to trigger indenting can be set with 'cinkeys'. Comments can be automatically formatted. The 'comments' option can be set to the characters that start and end a comment. This works best for C code, but also works for e-mail (">" at start of the line) and other types of text. The = operator can be used to re-indent lines. For many other languages an indent plugin is present to support automatic indenting. 30.3 Searching for words in included files. include-search The [i command can be used to search for a match of the word under the cursor in the current and included files. The 'include' option can be set to a pattern that describes a command to include a file (the default is for C programs). The [I command lists all matches, the [_CTRL-I command jumps to a match. The [d, [D and [_CTRL-D commands do the same, but only for lines where the pattern given with the 'define' option matches. Automatic commands. autocommand Commands can be automatically executed when reading a file, writing a file, jumping to another buffer, etc., depending on the file name. This is useful to set options and mappings for C programs, documentation, plain text, e-mail, etc. This also makes it possible to edit compressed files. Scripts and Expressions. expression Commands have been added to form up a powerful script language. :if Conditional execution, which can be used for example to set options depending on the value of $TERM. :while Repeat a number of commands. :for Loop over a list. :echo Print the result of an expression. :let Assign a value to an internal variable, option, etc. Variable types are Number, String, List and Dictionary. :execute Execute a command formed by an expression. :try Catch exceptions. etc., etc. See eval. Debugging and profiling are supported. debug-scripts profile If this is not enough, an interface is provided to Python, Ruby, Tcl, Lua, Perl and MzScheme. Viminfo. viminfo-file The command-line history, marks and registers can be stored in a file that is read on startup. This can be used to repeat a search command or command-line command after exiting and restarting Vim. It is also possible to jump right back to where the last edit stopped with '0. The 'viminfo' option can be set to select which items to store in the .viminfo file. This is off by default. Printing. printing The :hardcopy command sends text to the printer. This can include syntax highlighting. Mouse support. mouse-using The mouse is supported in the GUI version, in an xterm for Unix, for BSDs with sysmouse, for Linux with gpm, and Win32. It can be used to position the cursor, select the visual area, paste a register, etc. Usage of key names. <> key-notation Special keys now all have a name like <Up>, <End>, etc. This name can be used in mappings, to make it easy to edit them. Editing binary files. edit-binary Vim can edit binary files. You can change a few characters in an executable file, without corrupting it. Vim doesn't remove NUL characters (they are represented as <NL> internally). -b command-line argument to start editing a binary file 'binary' Option set by -b. Prevents adding an <EOL> for the last line in the file. Multi-language support. multi-lang Files in double-byte or multibyte encodings can be edited. There is UTF-8 support to be able to edit various languages at the same time, without switching fonts. UTF-8 Messages and menus are available in different languages. Move cursor beyond lines. When the 'virtualedit' option is set the cursor can move all over the screen, also where there is no text. This is useful to edit tables and figures easily. ============================================================================== 5. Other vim features other-features A random collection of nice extra features. When Vim is started with "-s scriptfile", the characters read from "scriptfile" are treated as if you typed them. If end of file is reached before the editor exits, further characters are read from the console. The "-w" option can be used to record all typed characters in a script file. This file can then be used to redo the editing, possibly on another file or after changing some commands in the script file. The "-o" option opens a window for each argument. "-o4" opens four windows. Vi requires several termcap entries to be able to work full-screen. Vim only requires the "cm" entry (cursor motion). In command mode: When the 'showcmd' option is set, the command characters are shown in the last line of the screen. They are removed when the command is finished. If the 'ruler' option is set, the current cursor position is shown in the last line of the screen. "U" still works after having moved off the last changed line and after "u". Characters with the 8th bit set are displayed. The characters between '~' and 0xa0 are displayed as "~?", "~@", "~A", etc., unless they are included in the 'isprint' option. "][" goes to the next ending of a C function ('}' in column 1). "[]" goes to the previous ending of a C function ('}' in column 1). "]f", "[f" and "gf" start editing the file whose name is under the cursor. CTRL-W f splits the window and starts editing the file whose name is under the cursor. "*" searches forward for the identifier under the cursor, "#" backward. "K" runs the program defined by the 'keywordprg' option, with the identifier under the cursor as argument. "%" can be preceded with a count. The cursor jumps to the line that percentage down in the file. The normal "%" function to jump to the matching brace skips braces inside quotes. With the CTRL-] command, the cursor may be in the middle of the identifier. The used tags are remembered. Commands that can be used with the tag stack are CTRL-T, ":pop" and ":tag". ":tags" lists the tag stack. Vi uses 'wrapscan' when searching for a tag. When jumping to a tag Vi starts searching in line 2 of another file. It does not find a tag in line 1 of another file when 'wrapscan' is not set. The 'tags' option can be set to a list of tag file names. Thus multiple tag files can be used. For file names that start with "./", the "./" is replaced with the path of the current file. This makes it possible to use a tags file in the same directory as the file being edited. {Vi: always uses binary search in some versions} {Vi does not have the security prevention for commands in tag files} Previously used file names are remembered in the alternate file name list. CTRL-^ accepts a count, which is an index in this list. ":files" command shows the list of alternate file names. "#<N>" is replaced with the <N>th alternate file name in the list. "#<" is replaced with the current file name without extension. Search patterns have more features. The <NL> character is seen as part of the search pattern and the substitute string of ":s". Vi sees it as the end of the command. Searches can put the cursor on the end of a match and may include a character offset. Count added to "~", ":next", ":Next", "n" and "N". The command ":next!" with 'autowrite' set does not write the file. In vi the file was written, but this is considered to be a bug, because one does not expect it and the file is not written with ":rewind!". In Vi when entering a <CR> in replace mode deletes a character only when 'ai' is set (but does not show it until you hit <Esc>). Vim always deletes a character (and shows it immediately). Added :wnext command. Same as ":write" followed by ":next". The ":w!" command always writes, also when the file is write protected. In Vi you would have to do ":!chmod +w %:S" and ":set noro". When 'tildeop' has been set, "~" is an operator (must be followed by a movement command). With the "J" (join) command you can reset the 'joinspaces' option to have only one space after a period (Vi inserts two spaces). "cw" can be used to change white space formed by several characters (Vi is confusing: "cw" only changes one space, while "dw" deletes all white space). {Vi: "cw" when on a blank followed by other blanks changes only the first blank; this is probably a bug, because "dw" deletes all the blanks} "o" and "O" accept a count for repeating the insert (Vi clears a part of display). Flags after Ex commands not supported (no plans to include it). On non-UNIX systems ":cd" command shows current directory instead of going to the home directory (there isn't one). ":pwd" prints the current directory on all systems. After a ":cd" command the file names (in the argument list, opened files) still point to the same files. In Vi ":cd" is not allowed in a changed file; otherwise the meaning of file names change. ":source!" command reads Vi commands from a file. ":mkexrc" command writes current modified options and mappings to a ".exrc" file. ":mkvimrc" writes to a ".vimrc" file. No check for "tail recursion" with mappings. This allows things like ":map! foo ^]foo". When a mapping starts with number, vi loses the count typed before it (e.g. when using the mapping ":map g 4G" the command "7g" goes to line 4). This is considered a vi bug. Vim concatenates the counts (in the example it becomes "74G"), as most people would expect. The :put! command inserts the contents of a register above the current line. The "p" and "P" commands of vi cannot be repeated with "." when the putted text is less than a line. In Vim they can always be repeated. ":noremap" command can be used to enter a mapping that will not be remapped. This is useful to exchange the meaning of two keys. ":cmap", ":cunmap" and ":cnoremap" can be used for mapping in command-line editing only. ":imap", ":iunmap" and ":inoremap" can be used for mapping in insert mode only. Similar commands exist for abbreviations: ":noreabbrev", ":iabbrev" ":cabbrev", ":iunabbrev", ":cunabbrev", ":inoreabbrev", ":cnoreabbrev". In Vi the command ":map foo bar" would remove a previous mapping ":map bug foo". This is considered a bug, so it is not included in Vim. ":unmap! foo" does remove ":map! bug foo", because unmapping would be very difficult otherwise (this is vi compatible). The ':' register contains the last command-line. The '%' register contains the current file name. The '.' register contains the last inserted text. ":dis" command shows the contents of the yank registers. CTRL-O/CTRL-I can be used to jump to older/newer positions. These are the same positions as used with the '' command, but may be in another file. The ":jumps" command lists the older positions. If the 'shiftround' option is set, an indent is rounded to a multiple of 'shiftwidth' with ">" and "<" commands. The 'scrolljump' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to scroll when the cursor gets off the screen. Use this when scrolling is slow. The 'scrolloff' option can be set to the minimum number of lines to keep above and below the cursor. This gives some context to where you are editing. When set to a large number the cursor line is always in the middle of the window. Uppercase marks can be used to jump between files. The ":marks" command lists all currently set marks. The commands "']" and "`]" jump to the end of the previous operator or end of the text inserted with the put command. "'[" and "`[" do jump to the start. {Vi: no uppercase marks} The 'shelltype' option can be set to reflect the type of shell used on the Amiga. The 'highlight' option can be set for the highlight mode to be used for several commands. The CTRL-A (add) and CTRL-X (subtract) commands are new. The count to the command (default 1) is added to/subtracted from the number at or after the cursor. That number may be decimal, octal (starts with a '0') or hexadecimal (starts with '0x'). Very useful in macros. With the :set command the prefix "inv" can be used to invert boolean options. In both Vi and Vim you can create a line break with the ":substitute" command by using a CTRL-M. For Vi this means you cannot insert a real CTRL-M in the text. With Vim you can put a real CTRL-M in the text by preceding it with a CTRL-V. In Insert mode: If the 'revins' option is set, insert happens backwards. This is for typing Hebrew. When inserting normal characters the cursor will not be shifted and the text moves rightwards. Backspace, CTRL-W and CTRL-U will also work in the opposite direction. CTRL-B toggles the 'revins' option. In replace mode 'revins' has no effect. Only when enabled at compile time. The backspace key can be used just like CTRL-D to remove auto-indents. You can backspace, CTRL-U and CTRL-W over line breaks if the 'backspace' (bs) option includes "eol". You can backspace over the start of insert if the 'backspace' option includes "start". When the 'paste' option is set, a few options are reset and mapping in insert mode and abbreviation are disabled. This allows for pasting text in windowing systems without unexpected results. When the 'paste' option is reset, the old option values are restored. CTRL-T/CTRL-D always insert/delete an indent in the current line, no matter what column the cursor is in. CTRL-@ (insert previously inserted text) works always (Vi: only when typed as first character). CTRL-A works like CTRL-@ but does not leave insert mode. CTRL-R {register} can be used to insert the contents of a register. When the 'smartindent' option is set, C programs will be better auto-indented. With 'cindent' even more. CTRL-Y and CTRL-E can be used to copy a character from above/below the current cursor position. After CTRL-V you can enter a three digit decimal number. This byte value is inserted in the text as a single character. Useful for international characters that are not on your keyboard. When the 'expandtab' (et) option is set, a <Tab> is expanded to the appropriate number of spaces. The window always reflects the contents of the buffer (Vi does not do this when changing text and in some other cases). If Vim is compiled with DIGRAPHS defined, digraphs are supported. A set of normal digraphs is included. They are shown with the ":digraph" command. More can be added with ":digraph {char1}{char2} {number}". A digraph is entered with "CTRL-K {char1} {char2}" or "{char1} BS {char2}" (only when 'digraph' option is set). When repeating an insert, e.g. "10atest <Esc>" vi would only handle wrapmargin for the first insert. Vim does it for all. A count to the "i" or "a" command is used for all the text. Vi uses the count only for one line. "3iabc<NL>def<Esc>" would insert "abcabcabc<NL>def" in Vi but "abc<NL>defabc<NL>defabc<NL>def" in Vim. In Command-line mode: <Esc> terminates the command-line without executing it. In vi the command line would be executed, which is not what most people expect (hitting <Esc> should always get you back to command mode). To avoid problems with some obscure macros, an <Esc> in a macro will execute the command. If you want a typed <Esc> to execute the command like vi does you can fix this with ":cmap ^V<Esc> ^V<CR>" General: The 'ttimeout' option is like 'timeout', but only works for cursor and function keys, not for ordinary mapped characters. The 'timeoutlen' option gives the number of milliseconds that is waited for. If the 'esckeys' option is not set, cursor and function keys that start with <Esc> are not recognized in insert mode. There is an option for each terminal string. Can be used when termcap is not supported or to change individual strings. The 'fileformat' option can be set to select the <EOL>: "dos" <CR><NL>, "unix" <NL> or "mac" <CR>. When the 'fileformats' option is not empty, Vim tries to detect the type of <EOL> automatically. The 'fileformat' option is set accordingly. On systems that have no job control (older Unix systems and non-Unix systems) the CTRL-Z, ":stop" or ":suspend" command starts a new shell. If Vim is started on the Amiga without an interactive window for output, a window is opened (and :sh still works). You can give a device to use for editing with the -d argument, e.g. "-d con:20/20/600/150". The 'columns' and 'lines' options are used to set or get the width and height of the display. Option settings are read from the first and last few lines of the file. Option 'modelines' determines how many lines are tried (default is 5). Note that this is different from the Vi versions that can execute any Ex command in a modeline (a major security problem). trojan-horse If the 'insertmode' option is set (e.g. in .exrc), Vim starts in insert mode. And it comes back there, when pressing <Esc>. Undo information is kept in memory. Available memory limits the number and size of change that can be undone. This is hardly a problem on the Amiga and almost never with Unix and Win32. If the 'backup' or 'writebackup' option is set: Before a file is overwritten, a backup file (.bak) is made. If the "backup" option is set it is left behind. Vim creates a file ending in ".swp" to store parts of the file that have been changed or that do not fit in memory. This file can be used to recover from an aborted editing session with "vim -r file". Using the swap file can be switched off by setting the 'updatecount' option to 0 or starting Vim with the "-n" option. Use the 'directory' option for placing the .swp file somewhere else. Vim is able to work correctly on filesystems with 8.3 file names, also when using messydos or crossdos filesystems on the Amiga, or any 8.3 mounted filesystem under Unix. See 'shortname'. Error messages are shown at least one second (Vi overwrites error messages). If Vim gives the hit-enter prompt, you can hit any key. Characters other than <CR>, <NL> and <Space> are interpreted as the (start of) a command. {Vi: only ":" commands are interpreted} The contents of the numbered and unnamed registers is remembered when changing files. The "No lines in buffer" message is a normal message instead of an error message, since that may cause a mapping to be aborted. {Vi: error messages may be overwritten with other messages before you have a chance to read them} The AUX: device of the Amiga is supported. ============================================================================== 6. Supported Vi features vi-features Vim supports nearly all Vi commands and mostly in the same way. That is when the 'compatible' option is set and 'cpoptions' contains all flags. What the effect is of resetting 'compatible' and removing flags from 'cpoptions' can be found at the help for the specific command. The help files used to mark features that are in Vim but not in Vi with {not in Vi}. However, since these remarks cluttered the help files we now do it the other way around: Below is listed what Vi already supported. Anything else has been added by Vim. The following Ex commands are supported by Vi: :abbreviate enter abbreviation :append append text :args print the argument list :cd change directory; Vi: no "cd -" :change replace a line or series of lines :chdir change directory :copy copy lines :delete delete lines :edit edit a file :exit same as :xit :file show or set the current file name; Vi: without the column number :global execute commands for matching lines :insert insert text :join join lines; Vi: not :join! :k set a mark :list print lines :map show or enter a mapping :mark set a mark :move move lines :Next go to previous file in the argument list {Vi: no count} :next go to next file in the argument list {Vi: no count} :number print lines with line number :open start open mode (not implemented in Vim) :pop jump to older entry in tag stack (only in some versions) :preserve write all text to swap file {Vi: might also exit} :previous same as :Next {Vi: only in some versions} :print print lines :put insert contents of register in the text :quit quit Vi :read read file into the text :recover recover a file from a swap file {Vi: recovers in another way and sends mail if there is something to recover} :rewind go to the first file in the argument list; no ++opt :set set option; but not `:set inv{option}`, `:set option&`, `:set all&`, `:set option+=value`, `:set option^=value` `:set option-=value` `:set option<` :shell escape to a shell :source read Vi or Ex commands from a file :stop suspend the editor or escape to a shell :substitute find and replace text; Vi: no '&', 'i', 's', 'r' or 'I' flag, confirm prompt only supports 'y' and 'n', no highlighting :suspend same as ":stop" :t same as ":copy" :tag jump to tag :unabbreviate remove abbreviation :undo undo last change {Vi: only one level} :unmap remove mapping :vglobal execute commands for not matching lines :version print version number and other info :visual same as ":edit", but turns off "Ex" mode :wq write to a file and quit Vi :write write to a file :xit write if buffer changed and quit Vi :yank yank lines into a register :z print some lines {not in all versions of Vi} :! filter lines or execute an external command :" comment :# same as ":number" :* execute contents of a register :& repeat last ":substitute" :< shift lines one 'shiftwidth' left := print the cursor line number :> shift lines one 'shiftwidth' right :@ execute contents of a register; but not :@; :@@ only in some versions Common for these commands is that Vi doesn't support the ++opt argument on :edit and other commands that open a file. The following Normal mode commands are supported by Vi: note: See the beginning of normal-index for the meaning of WORD, N, Nmove and etc in the description text. CTRL-B scroll N screens Backwards CTRL-C interrupt current (search) command CTRL-D scroll Down N lines (default: half a screen); Vim scrolls 'scroll' screen lines, Vi scrolls file lines; makes a difference when lines wrap CTRL-E scroll N lines upwards (N lines Extra) CTRL-F scroll N screens Forward CTRL-G display current file name and position <BS> same as "h" CTRL-H same as "h" <NL> same as "j" CTRL-J same as "j" CTRL-L redraw screen <CR> cursor to the first CHAR N lines lower CTRL-M same as <CR> CTRL-N same as "j" CTRL-P same as "k" CTRL-R in some Vi versions: same as CTRL-L CTRL-T jump to N older Tag in tag list CTRL-U N lines Upwards (default: half a screen) {Vi used file lines while Vim scrolls 'scroll' screen lines; makes a difference when lines wrap} CTRL-Y scroll N lines downwards CTRL-Z suspend program (or start new shell) CTRL-] :ta to ident under cursor {Vi: identifier after the cursor} CTRL-^ edit alternate file {Vi: no count} <Space> same as "l" ! filter Nmove text through the {filter} command !! filter N lines through the {filter} command " use register {a-zA-Z0-9.%#:-"} for next delete, yank or put (uppercase to append) ({.%#:} only work with put) $ cursor to the end of Nth next line % find the next (curly/square) bracket on this line and go to its match, or go to matching comment bracket, or go to matching preprocessor directive (Vi: no count supported) & repeat last :s ' jump to mark (Vi: only lowercase marks) ( cursor N sentences backward ) cursor N sentences forward + same as <CR> , repeat latest f, t, F or T in opposite direction N times - cursor to the first CHAR N lines higher . repeat last change with count replaced with N / search forward for the Nth occurrence of {pattern} 0 cursor to the first char of the line : start entering an Ex command ; repeat latest f, t, F or T N times < shift Nmove lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards << shift N lines one 'shiftwidth' leftwards = filter Nmove lines through "indent" == filter N lines through "indent" > shift Nmove lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards >> shift N lines one 'shiftwidth' rightwards ? search backward for the Nth previous occurrence of {pattern} @ execute the contents of register {a-z} N times {Vi: only named registers} @@ repeat the previous @{a-z} N times A append text after the end of the line N times B cursor N WORDS backward C change from the cursor position to the end of the line D delete the characters under the cursor until the end of the line and N-1 more lines [into register x]; synonym for "d$" E cursor forward to the end of WORD N F cursor to the Nth occurrence of {char} to the left G cursor to line N, default last line H cursor to line N from top of screen I insert text before the first CHAR on the line N times J Join N lines; default is 2 L cursor to line N from bottom of screen M cursor to middle line of screen N repeat the latest '/' or '?' N times in opposite direction O begin a new line above the cursor and insert text, repeat N times {Vi: blank [count] screen lines} P put the text [from register x] before the cursor N times {Vi: no count} Q switch to "Ex" mode R enter replace mode: overtype existing characters, repeat the entered text N-1 times S delete N lines [into register x] and start insert; synonym for "cc". T cursor till after Nth occurrence of {char} to the left U undo all latest changes on one line {Vi: while not moved off of the last modified line} W cursor N WORDS forward X delete N characters before the cursor [into register x] Y yank N lines [into register x]; synonym for "yy" ZZ store current file if modified, and exit [[ cursor N sections backward ]] cursor N sections forward ^ cursor to the first CHAR of the line _ cursor to the first CHAR N - 1 lines lower ` cursor to the mark {a-zA-Z0-9} a append text after the cursor N times b cursor N words backward c delete Nmove text [into register x] and start insert cc delete N lines [into register x] and start insert d delete Nmove text [into register x] dd delete N lines [into register x] e cursor forward to the end of word N f cursor to Nth occurrence of {char} to the right h cursor N chars to the left i insert text before the cursor N times j cursor N lines downward k cursor N lines upward l cursor N chars to the right m set mark {A-Za-z} at cursor position n repeat the latest '/' or '?' N times o begin a new line below the cursor and insert text {Vi: blank [count] screen lines} p put the text [from register x] after the cursor N times {Vi: no count} r replace N chars with {char} {Vi: CTRL-V <CR> still replaces with a line break, cannot replace something with a <CR>} s (substitute) delete N characters [into register x] and start insert t cursor till before Nth occurrence of {char} to the right u undo changes {Vi: only one level} w cursor N words forward x delete N characters under and after the cursor [into register x] y yank Nmove text [into register x] yy yank N lines [into register x] z<CR> current line to the top z- current line to the bottom z+ cursor on line N z^ cursor on line N { cursor N paragraphs backward | cursor to column N } cursor N paragraphs forward ~ switch case of N characters under the cursor; Vim: depends on 'tildeop' {Vi: no count, no 'tildeop'} <Del> same as "x" The following commands are supported in Insert mode by Vi: CTRL-@ insert previously inserted text and stop insert {Vi: only when typed as first char, only up to 128 chars} CTRL-C quit insert mode, without checking for abbreviation, unless 'insertmode' set. CTRL-D delete one shiftwidth of indent in the current line {Vi: CTRL-D works only when used after autoindent} <BS> delete character before the cursor {Vi: does not delete autoindents, does not cross lines, does not delete past start position of insert} CTRL-H same as <BS> <Tab> insert a <Tab> character CTRL-I same as <Tab> <NL> same as <CR> CTRL-J same as <CR> <CR> begin new line CTRL-M same as <CR> CTRL-T insert one shiftwidth of indent in current line {Vi: only when in indent} CTRL-V {char} insert next non-digit literally {Vi: no decimal byte entry} CTRL-W delete word before the cursor CTRL-Z when 'insertmode' set: suspend Vi <Esc> end insert mode (unless 'insertmode' set) CTRL-[ same as <Esc> 0 CTRL-D delete all indent in the current line ^ CTRL-D delete all indent in the current line, restore it in the next line <Del> delete character under the cursor The following options are supported by Vi: 'autoindent' 'ai' take indent for new line from previous line {Vi does this slightly differently: After the indent is deleted when typing <Esc> or <CR>, the cursor position when moving up or down is after the deleted indent; Vi puts the cursor somewhere in the deleted indent}. 'autowrite' 'aw' automatically write file if changed 'directory' 'dir' list of directory names for the swap file {Vi: directory to put temp file in, defaults to "/tmp"} 'edcompatible' 'ed' toggle flags of ":substitute" command 'errorbells' 'eb' ring the bell for error messages 'ignorecase' 'ic' ignore case in search patterns 'lines' number of lines in the display 'lisp' automatic indenting for Lisp {Vi: Does it a little bit differently} 'list' show <Tab> and <EOL> 'magic' changes special characters in search patterns 'modeline' 'ml' recognize 'modelines' at start or end of file {called modelines in some Vi versions} 'number' 'nu' print the line number in front of each line 'paragraphs' 'para' nroff macros that separate paragraphs 'prompt' 'prompt' enable prompt in Ex mode 'readonly' 'ro' disallow writing the buffer {Vim sets 'readonly' when editing a file with :view} 'remap' allow mappings to work recursively 'report' threshold for reporting nr. of lines changed 'scroll' 'scr' lines to scroll with CTRL-U and CTRL-D 'sections' 'sect' nroff macros that separate sections 'shell' 'sh' name of shell to use for external commands 'shiftwidth' 'sw' number of spaces to use for (auto)indent step 'showmatch' 'sm' briefly jump to matching bracket if insert one 'showmode' 'smd' message on status line to show current mode 'tabstop' 'ts' number of spaces that <Tab> in file uses 'taglength' 'tl' number of significant characters for a tag 'tags' 'tag' list of file names used by the tag command {Vi: default is "tags /usr/lib/tags"} 'tagstack' 'tgst' push tags onto the tag stack {not in all versions of Vi} 'term' name of the terminal 'terse' shorten some messages 'timeout' 'to' time out on mappings and key codes 'timeoutlen' 'tm' time for 'timeout' {only in some Vi versions} 'ttytype' 'tty' alias for 'term' 'verbose' 'vbs' give informative messages {only in some Vi versions as a boolean option} 'warn' warn for shell command when buffer was changed 'window' 'wi' nr of lines to scroll for CTRL-F and CTRL-B {Vi also uses the option to specify the number of displayed lines} 'wrapmargin' 'wm' chars from the right where wrapping starts {Vi: works differently and less usefully} 'wrapscan' 'ws' searches wrap around the end of the file 'writeany' 'wa' write to file with no need for "!" override Also see missing-options. ============================================================================== 7. Command-line arguments cmdline-arguments Different versions of Vi have different command-line arguments. This can be confusing. To help you, this section gives an overview of the differences. Five variants of Vi will be considered here: Elvis Elvis version 2.1b Nvi Nvi version 1.79 Posix Posix 1003.2 Vi Vi version 3.7 (for Sun 4.1.x) Vile Vile version 7.4 (incomplete) Vim Vim version 5.2 Only Vim is able to accept options in between and after the file names. +{command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Same as "-c {command}". - Nvi, Posix, Vi: Run Ex in batch mode. Vim: Read file from stdin (use -s for batch mode). -- Vim: End of options, only file names are following. --cmd {command} Vim: execute {command} before sourcing vimrc files. --echo-wid Vim: GTK+ echoes the Window ID on stdout --help Vim: show help message and exit. --literal Vim: take file names literally, don't expand wildcards. --nofork Vim: same as -f --noplugin[s] Vim: Skip loading plugins. --remote Vim: edit the files in another Vim server --remote-expr {expr} Vim: evaluate {expr} in another Vim server --remote-send {keys} Vim: send {keys} to a Vim server and exit --remote-silent {file} Vim: edit the files in another Vim server if possible --remote-wait Vim: edit the files in another Vim server and wait for it --remote-wait-silent Vim: like --remote-wait, no complaints if not possible --role {role} Vim: GTK+ 2: set role of main window --serverlist Vim: Output a list of Vim servers and exit --servername {name} Vim: Specify Vim server name --socketid {id} Vim: GTK window socket to run Vim in --windowid {id} Vim: Win32 window ID to run Vim in --version Vim: show version message and exit. -? Vile: print usage summary and exit. -a Elvis: Load all specified file names into a window (use -o for Vim). -A Vim: Start in Arabic mode (when compiled with Arabic). -b {blksize} Elvis: Use {blksize} blocksize for the session file. -b Vim: set 'binary' mode. -C Vim: Compatible mode. -c {command} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vim: run {command} as an Ex command after loading the edit buffer. Vim: allow up to 10 "-c" arguments -d {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only). {only when compiled without the +diff feature} -d Vim: start with 'diff' set. vimdiff -dev {device} Vim: Use {device} for I/O (Amiga only). -D Vim: debug mode. -e Elvis, Nvi, Vim: Start in Ex mode, as if the executable is called "ex". -E Vim: Start in improved Ex mode gQ, like "exim". -f Vim: Run GUI in foreground (Amiga: don't open new window). -f {session} Elvis: Use {session} as the session file. -F Vim: Start in Farsi mode (when compiled with Farsi). Nvi: Fast start, don't read the entire file when editing starts. -G {gui} Elvis: Use the {gui} as user interface. -g Vim: Start GUI. -g N Vile: start editing at line N -h Vim: Give help message. Vile: edit the help file -H Vim: start Hebrew mode (when compiled with it). -i Elvis: Start each window in Insert mode. -i {viminfo} Vim: Use {viminfo} for viminfo file. -L Vim: Same as "-r" {only in some versions of Vi: "List recoverable edit sessions"}. -l Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set 'lisp' and 'showmatch' options. -m Vim: Modifications not allowed to be written, resets 'write' option. -M Vim: Modifications not allowed, resets 'modifiable' and the 'write' option. -N Vim: No-compatible mode. -n Vim: No swap file used. -nb[args] Vim: open a NetBeans interface connection -O[N] Vim: Like -o, but use vertically split windows. -o[N] Vim: Open [N] windows, or one for each file. -p[N] Vim: Open [N] tab pages, or one for each file. -P {parent-title} Win32 Vim: open Vim inside a parent application window -q {name} Vim: Use {name} for quickfix error file. -q{name} Vim: Idem. -R Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vile, Vim: Set the 'readonly' option. -r Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Recovery mode. -S Nvi: Set 'secure' option. -S {script} Vim: source script after starting up. -s Nvi, Posix, Vim: Same as "-" (silent mode), when in Ex mode. Elvis: Sets the 'safer' option. -s {scriptin} Vim: Read from script file {scriptin}; only when not in Ex mode. -s {pattern} Vile: search for {pattern} -t {tag} Elvis, Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Edit the file containing {tag}. -t{tag} Vim: Idem. -T {term} Vim: Set terminal name to {term}. -u {vimrc} Vim: Read initializations from {vimrc} file. -U {gvimrc} Vim: Read GUI initializations from {gvimrc} file. -v Nvi, Posix, Vi, Vim: Begin in Normal mode (visual mode, in Vi terms). Vile: View mode, no changes possible. -V Elvis, Vim: Verbose mode. -V{nr} Vim: Verbose mode with specified level. -w {size} Elvis, Posix, Nvi, Vi, Vim: Set value of 'window' to {size}. -w{size} Nvi, Vi: Same as "-w {size}". -w {name} Vim: Write to script file {name} (must start with non-digit). -W {name} Vim: Append to script file {name}. -x Vi, Vim: Ask for encryption key. See encryption. -X Vim: Don't connect to the X server. -y Vim: Start in easy mode, like evim. -Z Vim: restricted mode @{cmdfile} Vile: use {cmdfile} as startup file. ============================================================================== 8. POSIX compliance posix posix-compliance In 2005 the POSIX test suite was run to check the compatibility of Vim. Most of the test was executed properly. There are the few things where Vim is not POSIX compliant, even when run in Vi compatibility mode. $VIM_POSIX Set the $VIM_POSIX environment variable to have 'cpoptions' include the POSIX flags when Vim starts up. This makes Vim run as POSIX as it can. That's a bit different from being Vi compatible. You can find the Posix specification for Vi here: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/vi.html And the related Ex specification: https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/ex.html This is where Vim does not behave as POSIX specifies and why: posix-screen-size The $COLUMNS and $LINES environment variables are ignored by Vim if the size can be obtained from the terminal in a more reliable way. Add the '|' flag to 'cpoptions' to have $COLUMNS and $LINES overrule sizes obtained in another way. The "{" and "}" commands don't stop at a "{" in the original Vi, but POSIX specifies it does. Add the '{' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want it the POSIX way. The "D", "o" and "O" commands accept a count. Also when repeated. Add the '#' flag to 'cpoptions' if you want to ignore the count. The ":cd" command fails if the current buffer is modified when the '.' flag is present in 'cpoptions'. There is no ATTENTION message, the "A" flag is added to 'shortmess'. These are remarks about running the POSIX test suite: - vi test 33 sometimes fails for unknown reasons - vi test 250 fails; behavior will be changed in a new revision http://www.opengroup.org/austin/mailarchives/ag-review/msg01710.html (link no longer works, perhaps it's now: https://www.opengroup.org/sophocles/show_mail.tpl?CALLER=show_archive.tpl&source=L&listname=austin-review-l&id=1711) - vi test 310 fails; exit code non-zero when any error occurred? - ex test 24 fails because test is wrong. Changed between SUSv2 and SUSv3. - ex tests 47, 48, 49, 72, 73 fail because .exrc file isn't read in silent mode and $EXINIT isn't used. - ex tests 76, 78 fail because echo is used instead of printf. (fixed) Also: problem with \s not changed to space. - ex test 355 fails because 'window' isn't used for "30z". - ex test 368 fails because shell command isn't echoed in silent mode. - ex test 394 fails because "=" command output isn't visible in silent mode. - ex test 411 fails because test file is wrong, contains stray ':'. - ex test 475 and 476 fail because reprint output isn't visible in silent mode. - ex test 480 and 481 fail because the tags file has spaces instead of a tab. - ex test 502 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode. - ex test 509 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode. and exit code is 1 instead of 2. - ex test 534 fails because .exrc isn't read in silent mode. ============================================================================== 9. Supported Operating systems os-support Vim tries to support some old operating systems, however support for older operating systems might be dropped if maintenance becomes a burden or can no longer be verified. Here is the status of some operating systems. Note fully supported means, support is verified as part of the CI test suite. System | Status: --------------------------------+----------------------------------------- Amiga (OS4, AROS & MorphOS): | still supported (?) Haiku: | still supported (?) Linux: | fully supported (on maintained versions) Mac OS: | fully supported up until v10.6 (?) MS-Windows 7, 8, 10, 11: | fully supported UNIX: | supported (on maintained versions) OpenVMS: | supported QNX: | still supported (?) zOS/OS390: | still supported (?) The following operating systems are no longer supported: System | Status: --------------------------------+----------------------------------------- Atari MiNT | support was dropped with v8.2.1215 BeOS: | support was dropped with v8.2.0849 MS-DOS: | support was dropped with v7.4.1399 MS-Windows XP and Vista: | support was dropped with v9.0.0496 OS/2 | support was dropped with v7.4.1008 RISC OS: | support was dropped with v7.3.0187 vim:tw=78:ts=8:noet:ft=help:norl: